NCJ Number
213299
Date Published
October 2005
Length
96 pages
Annotation
The final of several reports under the Building Blocks for Youth Initiative documents effective efforts that advocates around the country have made to reduce the unequal treatment of youth of color in the justice system and provides strategies, ideas, and models for advocates, community organizations, public officials, and others addressing “disproportionate minority contact” (DMC).
Abstract
This report is the final report from the Building Blocks for Youth multi-strategy initiative which set out to reduce the overrepresentation and disparate treatment of youth of color in the justice system and promote fair, and effective juvenile justice policies. The report presents a collection of stories from advocates and others who have worked on successful campaigns across the United States, describing the problems they sought to address, the steps they took, the results they achieved, and the lessons they learned. In addressing the issue of “disproportionate minority contact” (DMC), the unequal treatment of youth of color in the justice system, 10 areas within the United States have initiated successful campaigns and initiatives to reduce the overrepresentation and disparate treatment of youth of color in the justice system. They include: (1) the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiatives in Santa Cruz, CA and Multnomah County in Portland, OR; (2) the W. Haywood Burns Institute Approach in Seattle, WA; (3) the Citizens for Juvenile Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union paper on the Overrepresentation of Minorities in Massachusetts’ Juvenile Justice System; (4) the juvenile justice initiative and the Cook County Public Defender’s Office in Illinois; (5) the Campaign to Derail the Super-jail in Alameda County, CA; (6) the “Parents Who Care Coalition” in South Dakota; (7) the Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition in Maryland; (8) the “No More Youth Jails” campaign in New York City, NY; (9) the Faith Communities for Family and Children coalition in Los Angeles, CA; and (1) the “Close Tallulah Now” campaign in Louisiana. Appendixes